(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an exercise bike, and more particularly to an exercise bike in which the user's weight is utilized as a load to provide a damping force or resistance and the user's body may move up and down rhythmically with the movement of the exercise bike, achieving the object of exercising the entire body.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
There are numerous kinds of exercise bikes available in the marketplace. The main structure of these conventional exercise bikes is shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional exercise bike essentially comprises a frame 11, a handlebar 12 mounted at a front end of the frame 11, a meter panel 13, a seat 14 mounted at a rear end of the frame 11, and a pair of pedals 15. After these components are assembled, a housing (not shown) is provided to conceal the frame 11 to give an integral and nice look to the whole bike. Exercise bikes do provide a convenient means of exercising to those who are too busy to find time to ride a bicycle. Besides, these exercise bikes may be mounted indoors to provide exercise opportunities at any time. However, there are the following drawbacks with the conventional exercise bikes:
1. As the seat 14 is supported by a seat post 16 at its bottom side, which is locked inside a stem 110 of the frame 11 by means of a screw bolt 17 capable of adjusting the height of the seat post 16, after a selected height is set, the screw bolt 17 is passed through an adjusting hole 161 of the seat post 16 to fixedly secure the seat 14. Therefore, when the user pedals the bike, his/her upper trunk will not move up and down as in real cycling, so that the user may easily feel tired after some time. Besides, since only the feet are exercised, the overall exercising effect is limited.
2. In order to provide a damping force to enhance the exercising effect, the conventional exercise bike 1 is provided with a driving wheel 18 driven by the pedals 15, and a transmission element 181 is further provided to drive a load means 19 located at a suitable position inside the frame 11 so as to increase the damping force or resistance in exercising. However, the load means 19 has to be adjusted according to the needs of the user. If resistance is achieved by means of friction, the load means will wear fast. On the other hand, if electronic type magnetic control is utilized to increase resistance, the cost will be high. Besides, the exercise bike 1 will have to be connected to a power source, which is inconvenient to the user.